Chapter 201. The Frozen Land (3)
Alexei Sivedov.
A man who had once been the Contractor of the B-rank Constellation ‘Young Man of Red and Black,’ Julien Sorel, and who had drawn the Count’s attention.
At last, we found what appeared to be the cabin where he lived.
“Smoke is coming from the chimney. He must be inside.”
Yang Jian muttered from behind a tree.
“We should be careful. A man who chose to isolate himself in a place like this is probably difficult to deal with.”
Keeping watch on our surroundings, we approached the cabin.
“Excuse us.”
I lightly knocked on the door.
“Could we speak with you for a moment?”
There was no answer.
So I tried opening the door.
“It’s unlocked.”
“Then... I suppose we have no choice but to go in.”
We cautiously entered.
The inside of the cabin was larger than expected.
Tools for hunting and living in the forest were neatly arranged, and a bedroom could be seen farther inside.
“Did he step out for a moment?”
Yang Jian looked around and approached the bedroom.
And then...
"...!"
I urgently grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
A gunshot rang out immediately afterward.
A bullet grazed the tip of Yang Jian’s nose.
“Ghk...!”
A man burst out.
He swung the rifle in his right hand into Yang Jian, then pressed a dagger in his left against Yang Jian’s neck.
“Don’t move!”
Holding Yang Jian hostage, the man shouted.
“Neither of you take another step!”
"..."
He was a large man.
He looked to be in his thirties, with a thick beard that suggested he rarely bothered shaving.
“How many times do I have to tell you?! I’m not cooperating with Pandemonium!”
“Pandemonium? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb! You came here to recruit me!”
He glared at Princess Longji.
“Even bringing a beautiful woman won’t work on me!”
"..."
“I-I mean it! It won’t work! Bringing a woman that beautiful is pointless! I’m not tempted at all!”
He seemed to be under some serious misunderstanding.
“She wasn’t brought here as an offering to you, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“What?!”
At that moment, Yang Jian vanished from the man’s grip.
Then he reappeared behind him.
This time, Yang Jian was the one holding a blade to the man’s neck.
“Enough.”
“No matter how impressive you used to be... you’re no match for me.”
“Ghk. What kind of strange trick is this...?!”
The man had simply been unlucky.
Of all people, he had chosen the ‘Taoist of Transformation’ as his hostage.
“Alexei Sivedov, calm down and listen.”
I spoke calmly.
“We aren’t with Pandemonium.”
“We have nothing to do with whatever faction you think sent us.”
“W-What?”
“We just came because there’s something we want to ask you.”
I gave Yang Jian a look.
“Yang Jian, let him go.”
“Don’t order me around when you’re only a Contractor.”
He grumbled, but released Alexei anyway.
“Who the hell are you people?”
“We came to ask about the ‘Young Man of Red and Black’ and the ‘King of Avengers.’”
"...!"
Alexei looked startled.
“If you don’t mind, could you tell us what happened?”
As I spoke, I took off the backpack I had been carrying the whole time.
Then I unzipped it...
revealing food and bottles of alcohol packed inside.
“Even if you’re living in isolation, don’t you sometimes crave things like this?”
"...!"
His eyes wavered.
Good thing I had prepared them beforehand.
“Close the door first.”
“Cold air’s getting in.”
At his sigh, Princess Longji hurriedly shut the door.
Alexei Sivedov had once been a promising aspiring mixed martial artist.
But during the chaos ten years ago, he suffered an injury that forced him into a long hospital stay.
While undergoing rehabilitation after being discharged, he received an offer to contract with a Constellation.
That Constellation was the B-rank ‘Young Man of Red and Black.’
The Constellation interfered actively in Alexei’s life.
Because Alexei had spent so long hospitalized, his physical condition was poor.
But with his Constellation’s help, he developed at remarkable speed.
As a result, in less than half a year, he became a rookie who drew the attention of many Constellations.
Alexei trusted and followed his Constellation.
But eventually, he realized there was another Constellation standing behind his own.
The S-rank Constellation ‘King of Avengers.’
The Count had manipulated the newly born ‘Young Man of Red and Black’ and helped him raise Alexei.
"..."
Listening to Alexei’s story, the three of us exchanged glances.
Wasn’t this situation extremely similar to Kang Yujin and me?
“At first, I didn’t understand.”
“If that S-rank Constellation wanted to help me that badly, why didn’t he just contract with me himself?”
“That... does make sense.”
Contracting with an S-rank Constellation was obviously far more beneficial than contracting with a B-rank one.
“But that wasn’t it.”
“What?”
“That S-rank Constellation’s goal wasn’t to raise me.”
“He was trying to raise my Constellation.”
“The B-rank Constellation ‘Young Man of Red and Black’?”
“But even that changed partway through.”
Alexei sighed.
“Back then, I didn’t work alone.”
“I fought as a pair with another Contractor.”
"..."
“One day, we went to eliminate a criminal organization made up of Contractors.”
“But we were hit by a surprise attack.”
“My partner died.”
“I was wounded too and barely managed to retreat.”
Alexei slowly shook his head.
“Then suddenly, all the Constellations lost interest in me.”
“The Constellations...?”
“I figured it out pretty quickly.”
“The reason so many Constellations had been interested in me in the first place... was because that S-rank Constellation had been actively promoting me.”
“So the S-rank Constellation stopped promoting you?”
“Yeah.”
“He completely abandoned us.”
“Not me.”
“My Constellation.”
“After a single defeat.”
Alexei’s expression darkened.
“Once I lost, my Constellation started falling too.”
"..."
“I don’t know exactly how the system works, but I think my Constellation had taken on some kind of ‘debt’ to support me.”
“When he couldn’t repay it, he ran into trouble.”
At that moment, I remembered the A-rank Constellation ‘Hero of the Golden Bridle,’ Bellerophon.
Bellerophon had also failed to repay his debts.
The Count had pressured him relentlessly until he eventually perished.
“That S-rank Constellation sometimes appeared before me in person and encouraged me.”
“So I never imagined he would cut us off that quickly.”
"..."
